"You little rascal, you've grown so fast! It's only been half a year, and your clothes are already so short? But they haven't gotten any smaller. You've only grown taller but not fatter!" Su Yan shook his head and said, "Looks like I'll have to make you two new sets of clothes."
Xie Chen replied, "I'm wearing the same clothes as my brother."
"Alright, alright, I got it. Make it the same material as what I wear." Su Yan laughed. "But this time you can't hide anymore. You have to have the tailor take your measurements."
Upon hearing this, Xie Chen immediately shook his head: "No, I just want my brother to measure it for me."
"...You brat, can't you let me slack off for a while? I have to do everything!" Su Yan pouted.
Chapter 7 Side Story: Dust and Smoke (Part 7)
“My brother said he would take care of me,” Xie Chen replied.
"..." Su Yan's lips twitched. Why did Xie Chen seem cuter when he didn't say anything?
Afterwards, the two went to the tailor shop together.
The tailor recognized them at a glance. Although half a year had passed, he still had a deep impression of Su Yan and Xie Chen.
"Is the young master bringing his younger brother to have new clothes made again?"
Su Yan laughed and said, "How did you know I brought my younger brother to have new clothes made, and not for myself?"
“I’m not blind. Your brother’s clothes are too short. If we’re not making new clothes for him, who are we making them for?”
"..." Su Yan choked.
Seeing that Su Yan was speechless after the tailor's words, Xie Chen immediately glared at the tailor with a cold face.
The tailor felt uneasy under his glare, then handed the ruler to Su Yan and said, "You should measure your brother this time too. I don't think he'll let me measure him in his current state."
"Hmm." Su Yan nodded and took the ruler. Then he looked at Xie Chen, who was already standing obediently.
After taking the measurements, Su Yan said to the tailor, "Let's make two sets of the old fabric."
"Okay, then come pick it up in two days."
"Okay." After saying that, Su Yan left with Xie Chen.
On the way, Xie Chen asked, "Brother, do you want to buy some more food?"
"No need, I secretly saved some a few days ago, and I haven't finished them yet," Su Yan replied.
After returning to Xuanyuan Pavilion, Su Yan had Xie Chen practice martial arts while he went to the accounting office to work.
Although Xuanyuan Pavilion is an assassin's guild, it still needs a person in charge of accounting. After all, the money sent by the employers must be properly recorded, and the expenses of the guild must also be accounted for.
Therefore, this important task fell to Su Yan.
However, Xie Chen always followed Su Yan closely, so whenever Su Yan went to approve accounts, he would not go to the training ground, but would follow Su Yan to the outside of the accounting room.
Su Yan was reviewing accounts inside the house, while he was practicing martial arts outside.
This busy work lasted for several hours. When Su Yan finished approving the accounts and walked out of the accounting room, he found that it had started raining outside, and Xie Chen was still practicing martial arts in the rain without stopping.
"Xie Chen, you're still practicing in the rain? Are you stupid? Come here right now!" Su Yan shouted.
Xie Chen stopped when he heard his voice and immediately ran to the eaves. He didn't care that he was soaking wet, and just kept his eyes on Su Yan.
Su Yan quickly grabbed his sleeve and wiped the rain off Xie Chen's face: "You silly boy, aren't you afraid of getting sick from the rain?"
Xie Chen shook his head: "I'm not afraid."
"Then you don't need to get soaked in the rain." After wiping himself off, Su Yan grabbed Xie Chen and quickly walked back.
"My brother makes me practice martial arts. Even if he tells me to stop, I won't stop, not even if he's wielding a knife." Xie Chen was being pulled along by Su Yan, but Su Yan was walking too fast and he couldn't keep up.
"You silly little thing, so stubborn! If you get gonorrhea, I'll be the one taking care of you!" Su Yan dragged Xie Chen back to the room and said, "Hurry up and take off your clothes!"
After saying that, he quickly walked to the wardrobe, took out a clean set of clothes, and helped Xie Chen change into them.
Then she ran to get a dry cloth to wipe Xie Chen's dripping hair.
Even so, Xie Chen still developed a fever that evening.
Su Yan felt as if he were sleeping next to a small stove. He couldn't help but open his eyes and subconsciously reached out to touch Xie Chen's head, but his hand recoiled from the heat.
He frowned. "Tsk, really."
Chapter 8 Side Story: Dust and Smoke (Part 8)
"I thought you were so capable, not even bothering to take shelter from the rain. See, you've got a fever!" Su Yan scolded Xie Chen irritably.
Unfortunately, Xie Chen was feeling unwell at the moment and couldn't hear his scolding.
Su Yan covered him with the blanket, then quickly got out of bed, dressed, and went out to fetch a doctor for Xie Chen.
The rain was still falling outside. Su Yan searched for a long time but couldn't find an umbrella. Knowing that Xie Chen had a high fever and couldn't be delayed, he had no choice but to run out in the rain to find a doctor.
He figured his physical condition was definitely better than Xie Chen's, so he wasn't worried about getting gonorrhea.
Finding a doctor so late at night is not easy. After finally finding a doctor who was willing to make house calls late at night, Su Yan immediately dragged him back.
As soon as he entered the room, Su Yan urged the doctor to go and treat Xie Chen, while he went to change his clothes, as the wet clothes were sticking to his body and were quite uncomfortable.
"Doctor, how is my brother? Is he alright?" Su Yan asked quickly to the bedside after changing his clothes.
"Well, it's nothing serious. I brought some fever reducer with me. You can brew it and give it to him later. He should get better by tomorrow." The doctor said as he took out the fever reducer he had prepared before leaving the house from his medicine box and gave it to Su Yan.
Su Yan took the medicine and nodded: "Okay."
"Although the fever will subside after taking the medicine, it's best to avoid going out in the wind for the next few days and just rest in the room," the doctor advised.
"Okay, I understand." With that, Su Yan gave the doctor the consultation fee, then saw him off from Xuanyuan Pavilion. After returning, he rushed to brew the medicine, truly not having a moment's rest.
When Su Yan returned with the brewed medicine, he had just reached the door when he heard Xie Chen crying inside: "Brother, I want my brother, brother..."
Su Yan immediately pushed open the door and went in, quickly put the medicine bowl on the table, and went over to comfort Xie Chen.
He sat down by the bed, then hugged Xie Chen in his arms and gently coaxed him, "Brother's here, here, don't be afraid."
Xie Chen immediately grabbed Su Yan's sleeve tightly, as if afraid he would disappear.
Looking at his pitiful appearance, as if he was afraid no one would want him, Su Yan couldn't help but sigh: "Silly boy, I thought you were so strong. You become a pitiful little kitten just because you're sick. What do you think you would do if I wasn't by your side?"
Xie Chen kept murmuring the word "brother," for only these two words could bring him peace of mind.
"Alright, sweetie, your brother's here. Don't be afraid. Your brother will protect you from now on. You won't be an unwanted child anymore." Su Yan stroked Xie Chen's head, gently comforting him.
Xie Chen gradually calmed down and stopped crying.
Seeing that he had stopped crying, Su Yan prepared to put him down so he could get the medicine and feed it to him, but the boy held onto his sleeve tightly and wouldn't let go.
Su Yan tried to pry it open several times but failed, mainly because he didn't dare to use too much force, for fear of startling Xie Chen.
Left with no other choice, Su Yan picked Xie Chen up, carried him to the table, sat down, and then used one hand to pick up the medicine on the table and feed it to Xie Chen.
"Brother, the medicine is so bitter..." Xie Chen, who had just finished drinking the medicine, started crying again because of its bitterness.
Su Yan put down the empty bowl, quickly carried him back to bed, then took out a piece of candy from under the pillow, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth: "Is it sweet now?"
Chapter 9 Side Story: Dust and Smoke (Part 9)
"Mmm, brother is sweet..." Xie Chen mumbled sleepily.
Su Yan smiled as he looked at Xie Chen, who had stopped crying after eating the candy. However, he dared not put Xie Chen down, as Xie Chen still had candy in his mouth and was afraid that it would be dangerous if he put him down.
And so, Su Yan sat leaning against the headboard, reached out and pulled the blanket over Xie Chen in his arms.
Xie Chen slept peacefully in his arms and stopped crying.
The night passed just like that.
When Xie Chen opened his eyes at dawn, he saw Su Yan sleeping with his head down.
"elder brother……"
Su Yan woke up from his sleep when he heard Xie Chen's shout. Still a little dazed, he shook his head to clear his head quickly.
He looked at Xie Chen, who was now unharmed, and breathed a sigh of relief: "You're finally alright. Get up, your legs are numb from sitting."
Xie Chen quickly got up from Su Yan's arms, sat down to the side, and said, "Brother, I'm hungry."
"Okay, wait a minute, I'll get you some food." With that, Su Yan got up and prepared to get Xie Chen some food.
Then Xie Chen tugged at his sleeve again: "I want to go with my brother."
“No, you must stay in your room. The doctor said you can’t be exposed to the wind for the next few days and you need to rest in your room,” Su Yan said.
Xie Chen shook his head: "No, I don't want to be separated from my brother."
“But you can’t go out. I’ll go get you some food and I’ll be right back,” Su Yan said.
"No, I'm not hungry anymore. I don't want my brother to leave." Xie Chen grabbed Su Yan's sleeve with one hand and pulled him over with the other.
"You..." Su Yan looked at him helplessly, "You can't go out, and you won't let me go out to get you food. Have you not eaten anything for the past few days?"
"Then I won't eat it," Xie Chen replied decisively.
Su Yan pouted: "If you don't eat, I still want to eat. I'm hungry."
“Well…” Xie Chen thought for a moment, then jumped off the bed, put on his shoes, ran to the closet and rummaged around for a bit. He then found a hooded cloak and came back. “If I wear this and wrap myself up, my brother won’t have to worry about me getting chilled, and I can go out with my brother.”
Seeing that Xie Chen insisted on sticking to him, Su Yan couldn't bear to leave him behind, lest he cry in the room again and might even chase after him. If that happened, he might as well take him with him.
"Alright, come on, let me help you get dressed. After you're dressed, we'll put this on before we go out." Su Yan said as he handed Xie Chen the clothes.
Xie Chen nodded happily.
Su Yan tied Xie Chen's cloak and put his hat on him, making sure he was well covered up, before taking his hand to go out.
But Xie Chen said, "I want my brother to carry me."
"Okay, okay, brother, carry me." Su Yan readily agreed and turned around to carry Xie Chen on his back.
After returning from his meal, Su Yan kept sneezing: "Achoo!"
Looking at Su Yan's appearance, Xie Chen asked, "Brother, are you sick too?"
"How could that be? I... Achoo, I'm fine... Achoo, I'm perfectly fine!" Su Yan said, secretly touching his forehead. Thankfully, it wasn't hot, so he should be alright.
But he forgot that it's not just having a fever that means you're sick; sneezing and a runny nose are also signs of illness.